A bottle of wine mysteriously appears inside Jane’s apartment on her 29th birthday with the cryptic message Tabula Rasa—Warning: There Is No Return. So since she is suicidal and drunk and other things associated with country music songs, Jane swallows a mouthful, figuring that the worst it could be is a dignified poison.
Jane gagged on the sour taste in her mouth. She was so dizzy, she’d fallen. . . but she was sitting in an office chair, with no memory whatsoever of leaving her dark and quiet apartment.

Florescent lights beat down on her, and the familiar voices of a call center surrounded her. None of this was possible. She was back at her old workplace. It was a workday, late afternoon, judging by the angle of light. Ultimata Insurance had laid her off months ago, yet here she was.

Variants

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  1. “A Taste of Time” by Abby Goldsmith, in Deep Magic, May 2004.
    2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Abby Goldsmith